I will put my hand up and say the setting can be important for the quality of the design for the same reason good finishing work is...aesthetics matter. Usually, there is no impact either way in my rating, but aesthetics could push my rating up to the next level if in some doubt...so aesthetics/setting aren't nearly as important as the design or even the soil/turf. By the same token, course aesthetic which negatively impacts the setting could knock a rating down. There are no hard rules on the matter for me.
Ciao